Ambulance gets stuck on ice

ROSSENDALE and Pendle Mountain Rescue team came to the rescue of an ambulance stranded on ice. The ambulance became stuck for an hour after reaching a patient in cottages in the Lower Crimble area of Bamford. One of the mountain rescue team's 4x4 vehicles took the female patient, who had a leg injury, and a female paramedic to Rochdale Infirmary while a second team in another 4x4 helped to push and drive the ambulance off the ice after 10.30pm on Sunday 27 December.

ROSSENDALE and Pendle Mountain Rescue team came to the rescue of an ambulance stranded on ice.

The ambulance became stuck for an hour after reaching a patient in cottages in the Lower Crimble area of Bamford.

One of the mountain rescue team's 4x4 vehicles took the female patient, who had a leg injury, and a female paramedic to Rochdale Infirmary while a second team in another 4x4 helped to push and drive the ambulance off the ice after 10.30pm on Sunday 27 December.

Andy Simpson of Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue team said: “The ambulance got stuck because it was icy and sliding everywhere.

“We used brute force and managed to get the ambulance off the ice and one of our lads managed to get the ambulance to the main road where it was clear.

“One of our crew drove the ambulance to get it off the ice and he thought that it was best to carry on.”

Mr Simpson says it has been an unusually busy December for Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue, which covers Rochdale, Heywood, Rossendale and Burnley, because of heavy snow and icy conditions.

The service has been called out 40 times since Friday 18 December.

He said: “There is still a lot of ice knocking about and you can't imagine that it will get better before it gets worse.”